Lost Lips, Broken Bullets
by butterfly.cell
Summary: Jack's back, John's gone and the Torchwood team have to avoid themselves for the night. The only place Jack can go is with Ianto, but back at his flat, Ianto is eager to avoid other things. Jack/Ianto
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Lost Lips, Broken Bullets  
**Characters/Pairings**: Jack, Ianto, team; Jack/Ianto  
**Spoilers**: General references to TW series 1, TW 2x01 (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang)  
**Warnings**: M/M kissing, sexual tension. Mild violence to weevils  
**Summary**: "Jack's back, John's gone and the team have to avoid themselves. The only place Jack can go is back to Ianto's flat, but there's something else that Ianto insists on avoiding with the Captain."

**Disclaimer**: I do not own characters or locations, Torchwood is property of Russel T. Davies, I just like to play!

* * *

**_Chapter 1_**

Ianto had stayed pretty much silent since John disappeared. He was trying not to think about what he'd done just before he stepped through the Rift. Ianto had long since come to terms with the fact that Jack had a different take on the meaning of monogamy, but it didn't stop the small buzz of jealousy.

The team, under Jack's orders, were dispersing. Owen and Tosh took the convertible, dropping Gwen off at her flat and then to Owen's apartment where they'd get a cab to the hospital for Owen to get checked over. Jack and Ianto stood watching them go. It wasn't until Jack's carefully drawn mask flickered and cracked a little that Ianto realised he must be in huge amounts of pain. Jack always took a while to heal fully from a death, and it took longer when he was tired. Knowing that Jack being in pain was more important than their unsteady 'relationship', Ianto walked round to the passenger door of the SUV and held it open for him.

"Sir, we'd better get moving. Hart's going to turn up any minute now." Jack looked up at him, wincing as he twisted his back a little. Ianto just raised an eyebrow. "You can't exactly go back to the hub, we're all there at the moment. You'll have to come back to my flat for the night."

On any other day, in any other situation, Jack would've taken this to be a good sign. Tonight, noting the look on Ianto's face, the careful, composed expression he wore during work hours, it was not the time for flirtatious banter. So, instead of making an innuendo, Jack nodded and climbed into the SUV uneasily, trying to play down the sheer pain rippling through his muscles and bones.

They made the drive in a comfortable silence, Jack staring out of the window as his mind started to wander to the meaning behind John's parting words. Ianto just kept his mind blank, eyes on the road. Eventually, he slowed and parked the car on the street outside his building, jerking Jack out of his reverie. By the time he was completely aware of what was going on, Ianto was opening his door for him and helping him out, gripping his arms firmly as another twinge in his back made Jack stumble.

The silence continued as Ianto lead the way into building and up the small, third floor flat. As soon as Ianto had removed his own shoes and coat, he helped Jack with his, noting the tension in his stance, the taught facial expression and the slightly clouded gaze. Next, he took Jack's hand and pulled him gently through the flat to the bathroom, sitting him on the closed toilet and kneeling down by the bath tub.

"Ianto-" Jack started, Ianto interrupting him almost immediately.

"You died and your back is obviously killing you. You can give me the details later. Right now, you need to have a bath and sleep." He spoke with his work voice: casual and slightly sarcastic, usually enough to make Jack melt completely. Usually. That tone of voice in the privacy of his flat was not common, and it was enough for Jack to sense danger.

"Ianto, we need to-" Ianto cut across him again, standing up and turning, meeting his eyes.

"Later, Jack." The tone was strong in Ianto's voice, making Jack nod once before watching Ianto leave the room. He turned, careful not to aggravate his back and slowly, gingerly pulled his braces off and started to unbutton and remove his shirt, listening to the crash of the water fill the tub.

Ianto returned, a few minutes later, with two mugs of coffee. He silently took in the sight of the almost full, steaming tub and turned the taps off before moving to Jack. The captain was currently slumped to the side, biting back tears of pain, irritation and exhaustion. He was sitting there with his shirt open and pulled half off one of his shoulders. He'd been attempting to remove it when his back gave a snarl of protest, sending spasms of pain into his ribs and along his spine. He'd tried twice more, with the same effect, and given up.

He didn't even open his eyes when he heard the water stop and the soft footsteps getting closer. He didn't respond until he felt Ianto's strong, gentle hands pulling him up a little, so he could get behind him. He tried to turn his head, but at the first sign of it, Ianto held him still.

"Let me help you with that." Ianto spoke quietly, the soft sound of his voice instantly easing Jack's overwhelming feeling of helplessness. He sat still, letting the same, strong hands manipulate his limbs carefully, sliding the shirt free and then his undershirt, which was a damn sight harder to get out of.

Ianto sucked in a breath at the sight of Jack's abused back, purple and black from the bruising, the discolouration radiating out from the middle. He ran his fingers over the damaged skin, careful not to apply any pressure. He heard a faint groan of appreciation from Jack and smiled in spite of himself.

_No, not tonight_. Ianto told himself firmly, removing his fingers from the bruising and kneeling down to pull Jack's socks off. He gathered up the clothes and dumped them in the dirty clothes bin, before turning to look at Jack.

"I'm going to go sort some things out. I think you left some clothes here, so I'll go and dig some out if I can find them." He found himself looking at Jack, their eyes locked in a way that made Ianto's heart ache. He'd missed that connection so desperately that he almost fell back to how he'd been before. He shook himself mentally and carried on. "Just give me a call if you need me."

He smiled briefly before leaving the room, pulling the door to behind him. He sighed heavily and moved off to his bedroom to go through the motions of finding Jack's clothes. In reality, the drawer that Jack had filled with spare shirts, trousers and underwear had remained untouched in his absence. Ianto wasn't ready for Jack to see just how much he'd missed him quite yet.


	2. Chapter 2

**SPOILERS**: Upcoming chapter includes minor West Wing series 1 (first episode)

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**_Chapter 2_**

Everyone has their own ways of dealing with stress or a particularly bad day at work. Gwen went home to Rhys and her normal other life, Owen went out on the lash, Tosh went home and watched films and Jack tried it on with the nearest person. Ianto Jones ran.

Ever since he'd been in high school, he'd gone running when things got too much. He did sprinting, long distance running, cross country, anything that got him moving, that got his legs working. He used to run every morning during college and his time at Torchwood London, something that he hadn't told anyone about. It was something he did alone and he didn't even want to risk anyone wanting to come with him.

It was only the period of caring for the half converted Lisa that had stopped him from running. He hadn't had the time to do so. He'd tried once or twice, but within five minutes, the guilt of enjoying himself whilst Lisa suffered made him turn back. It wasn't until Jack put him on indefinite suspension that he went out and bought himself a treadmill. He'd saved a lot of money over the years, never having been one to indulge in little things, so he bought one of the best he could find.

Within a few hours of having it, he'd rediscovered his love for running. He spent almost all his time on it, running until his knees gave out, or his legs went numb. As soon as the ache in his muscles died down, he got back up and started running again. It was this complete surrender to the task which would later get Ianto through those agonising few weeks without Jack.

All that time spent in one place had urged him to buy a new stereo, to play his extensive CD collection on, and the box sets of his favourites TV shows, including West Wing and ER. By the time Jack told him he could come back to work, he'd managed to make his way through all seven seasons of West Wing and three seasons of ER.

As today had been the stressful day to end all stressful days, Ianto knew exactly how he'd spend half his night. Whilst finding Jack's clothes, he'd changed into a pair of knee length shorts and a plain grey t-shirt, pulling on a clean pair of socks and grabbing his running shoes. He walked down the corridor, dragging a chair to the bathroom door and left the change of clothes on it for Jack to find when he was ready. Then he continued through his flat and turned the TV on, switching it onto DVD and starting up West Wing season one for what must've been the third time at the very least.

As soon as it started, he turned the treadmill on and set himself going at a steady pace. As he settled into the rhythm, he increased the speed until he was at his most comfortable. Relaxing his mind, he watched as the Senior Staff members hurried to the White House, ready to deal with what their day presented them; today it would be 'POTUS in a bike accident' and Josh's impending loss of his job.

The episode progressed and Ianto became more and more detached from the world around him, his body moving in a familiar and comforting motion, his mind fully absorbed in the political drama that unfolded. He'd managed to completely forget about what had happened the day before; about John, Jack and Jack's absence, everything that made Ianto so upset he could've killed Jack several times over.

By the time the credits started to roll, he slowed his speed down, stopping both the treadmill and the DVD. He stretched for a few moments to regain his breath, then kicked his trainers off, going to check on Jack. He listened in at the door and smiled at the sound of a low humming. It was a tune he recognised from previous time spent with the captain at the hub, something that made him nostalgic for the times before he'd left. He swallowed the lump in his throat and knocked.

"Yeah?" Jack's voice was more relaxed now, a little weary perhaps, but there was no pain in it any longer.

"I was wondering whether you needed anything." Ianto listened for a reply but heard the sounds of Jack heaving himself out of the water, accompanied by a couple of hisses of pain before the sound of material rubbing together. He could only assume that Jack had grabbed the towels he'd left in there, and he was right.

Jack appeared at the door, one towel around his waist and another wrapped around his shoulders. He stood in the doorway smiling tentatively at Ianto for a moment before looking down at his feet and wiggling them a little in the edge of the thick carpet of the corridor. Ianto just smiled to himself and opened the airing cupboard, pulling out a small towel and placing it on the pile of Jack's clothes.

"Get dressed, I'll help you with your shirt in a minute if you need me to. Then you're going to bed." Jack's lips curled in a very faint smile before he nodded and picked up the pile on the chair next to him. He disappeared back inside the bathroom and Ianto sat down on the chair, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes for a moment. He was tired, very, very tired, and he needed to have a shower and sleep. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite in the mood where he wanted to sleep in the same bed as Jack again, so that would be a dilemma in a moment.

"Uhh… Yan?" Ianto blinked his eyes open and stepped into the bathroom calmly, stopping a chuckle at the sight of Jack with his arms tangled in the t-shirt he was attempting to pull over his head. Ianto smoothly grabbed the material and pulled it down, noting mentally that the bruising had already started to change colour a little, looking a little further on the road to actually healing.

He trailed his hand down one of Jack's arms without thinking before grabbing the small towel and his arm, pulling him towards the bedroom. They remained in silence as Ianto made Jack sit on the bed and he rubbed his hair dry gently, the captain giving out a gentle groan of happiness every so often. After Ianto had managed to drag the process out as long as possible, he pulled the towel away and smiled briefly at Jack, letting himself feel a bit more relief at him being home and safe.

"Go to bed now, Jack." He pulled the cover back on the bed and headed towards the door.

"Stay?" Jack asked, his voice quiet and vulnerable. Ianto turned to find his blue eyes watching him carefully. He let himself be sucked in just a little bit before shaking his head slightly.

"Not tonight, Jack. Not yet." Ianto sighed, he barely had the willpower to stay away, yet he knew there were things they needed to talk about first, things that he couldn't bring himself to talk about. It was as if there was a wall he couldn't scale quite yet. He'd tackle it another time, just not now. His expression was apologetic and Jack picked up on it, just nodding and settling back down under the covers.

Ianto turned the light off and closed the door, heading back to the front room. He stopped on the way to grab a blanket from the airing cupboard and returned to the sofa, curling up and turning the DVD back on, letting the opening theme to the West Wing soar into action. He kept the noise down low as he watched, losing himself again in the politics.

Before the end of this episode, he was snoring softly against the arm of the sofa.


	3. Chapter 3

I apologise if I got the name on Diane's plane wrong... I didn't know how to spell it and whetehr there was an 'e' or not seemed a little insignificant to look up...

I like this chapter very much, I don't really know why, but i jsut really like it :) I hope you do too!

**Disclaimer**: omnomnom -ninjah- I own nothing, it's all Russel T. Davies

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**_Chapter 3_**

_That's a strange noise…_ Jack looked around him, he was asleep, definitely. He was in his dream world, the endless grey space with the comfortable chair which had evolved over the years. At first it had been the chair that had sat in his lounge back when he was little. Then it had been the chair of his ship, then for a long, long time it had been the chairs in the TARDIS, the ones that sat just behind the main console. Now, since about the time that The Skye Gypsy had turned up, it was the squashy leather barker lounger that sat in Ianto living room.

_There it is again!_ This time Jack levered himself up out of the comfort and safety of the chair to look around him, trying to find the source of the intrusion to his safe hold. There was nothing there, as usual. The noise kept repeating, the grinding, chugging rhythm that didn't belong in the serenity of his dreamland.

With a grudging feeling in his stomach, he sat back down, stayed perfectly still and closed his eyes. There was a long pause as his stomach turned a couple of somersaults and a deep rooted ache throbbed a dull rhythm through his spine. He snapped into awareness and realised, thankfully, that the ache in his back was from not moving for a while, not from the continued damage and bruising.

He rolled onto his back and smiled happily to himself before he realised he was in Ianto's bed. He was in Ianto's bed _alone_. He jerked up right and slowly, tentatively, his memories came back. The professional mask Ianto had maintained, the wash of relief at seeing the young man safe and alive, the pang of guilt he'd felt briefly as John kissed him that second time, in plain view of Ianto, the vulnerability he'd felt and the security the young man had given him.

Then he noticed the noise again, realising now that it must have been in his reality, penetrating his sleep. He must have been nearing the end of his sleep cycle naturally for the noise to be heard in the first place. As he pulled himself out of bed, he found the hoody that he'd adopted during his stays at Ianto's flat, before the Doctor had turned up, lying at the foot of the bed. He suspected that Ianto had dug it out and left it for him deliberately, and he silently thanked him.

He padded out of the bedroom as he pulled it on, heading down the corridor and heading towards the open plan living area and kitchen. The first thing that struck him was the noise had got distinctly louder. As he poked his head around the corner, he found something that was the last thing he'd expected to see.

Tucked into the corner of the room, facing the large TV that occupied the wall opposite, was a treadmill. _He runs?_ Jack stood and watched the young man as he jogged, obviously lost in his own world. He felt himself become slightly hypnotised by the sight; Ianto dressed in a fitted t-shirt and shorts, a sheen of sweat across his slightly flushed face and a look of complete relaxation and concentration on his features. Jack watched as an almost imperceptible tension fixed the young man's shoulders, leading him to slow down the treadmill to a walk and shut it off completely.

Ianto stood still, hunched over and breathing deeply, eyes closed. Despite the covert way Jack had conducted himself, Ianto had noticed him out of the corner of his eye and decided to stop, seeing as his legs were giving him the tell-tale signs of needing a rest anyway.

"You going to stand behind the corner all day, Jack?" Ianto mused, gabbing the towel on the edge of the sofa and wiping his face in it. When he looked up, Jack was looking sheepish, though the sight of him the hoody, an image that had helped him work through the long days without the captain, made his heart tighten a little.

"I came to see what the sound was… To see if you were okay that is…" Ianto couldn't help but smile at that, kicking his trainers off and padding across the room and into the corridor, Jack following him at a respectable distance. "What time is it, anyway?"

Ianto started rummaging through his chest of drawers, pulling fresh underwear, a clean t-shirt and a pair of jeans free from the dresser, as he replied. "It's about six thirty in the afternoon, Gwen called this morning and told me not to have us come in to work. Owen needs a few days off, Tosh is owed overtime anyway and Gwen herself is still pretty shaken up from everything, despite what she tells me."

"Wow, I slept for a long time then." Jack leaned against the doorframe, a little awkwardly, as Ianto moved around his room, picking up various things from the floor to throw into the wash.

"You always sleep a lot longer when you need to recover from something. You sleep better." Ianto admitted, still not looking at Jack. He knew if he looked up, the older man would try and start the conversation he wasn't ready to have. He needed some more time, just a little more, then they'd have the conversation. But not now. "I'm going to go have a shower, your clothes from yesterday are washed and ironed. They're in a pile on the sofa."

He chanced a smile at Jack before heading back down the corridor to the bathroom, closing the door and locking it behind him before letting out a breath he'd been unconsciously holding. _Why does it have to be this hard?_ He thought, flicking on the shower and starting to peel his running clothes off. _It was never this hard before… Why can't I look him in the eye now?_

As he stepped under the jet of hot water, he thought over various answers. He even considered that it was because he didn't love Jack anymore, but felt a sharp stab of guilt almost instantly. It wasn't that. After a while, he ignored his thoughts and simply concentrated on letting the water tease the tension and stiffness out of the muscles in his back.


	4. Chapter 4

**SPOILERS**: West Wing Series 1 (end), West Wing Series 2 (beginning)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own it, Russel T. Davies does.

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**_Chapter 4_**

He stayed standing under the water until it started to cool, dragging himself out before it could undo the work that had soothed his muscles. He pulled a towel off the rack and quickly dried himself, pulling his clean clothes on and grabbing another, smaller towel to dry his hair with. As he stepped out of the bathroom, he picked up his dirty clothes and threw them in the basket with the things he'd collected from his room before heading back there.

Jack was standing still, looking out of the window with his hands in his pockets, back to the room. Ianto watched and felt something wistful stir in him. Before the disappearance, he would've snuck up behind him and wrapped his arms around Jack's waist, perhaps kissing the sensitive spot just below his ear. Now, he simply moved to his bedside cabinet and opened the drawer, pulling out his watch and a bracelet.

It was, in reality, a necklace made of dark metallic beads, interrupted by several silver, tooled ones. The necklace conveniently wrapped around his wrist three times without being too tight or too loose, sitting like three joined bracelets. Before Jack turned around, the young man retrieved a dark blue hoody from his wardrobe and pulled it on, rolling the sleeves down.

"Jack?" Ianto stood a few feet back from him as Jack seemed to snap out of a trance.

"Hmm?" He turned round, his eyes inquisitive, his expression open and relaxed.

"Why don't we order a take out?" Ianto asked, his face polite and professional again. Jack grimaced a little bit and nodded, following him silently as Ianto made his way back to the kitchen. "Pizza or Chinese?"

"I'd go with Chinese, I think." Jack flopped down into the barker lounger and flicked the TV on, the DVD player popping to life and starting up the next episode of West Wing. He watched with interest as the story unravelled, becoming immersed in the show, despite the fact that he didn't really understand American politics and he knew nothing about the characters.

He barely noticed when the food arrived about twenty minutes later and Ianto passed him a plate of chilli beef, egg fried rice and pancake rolls. Ianto sat back on the sofa and watched with amusement as Jack ate instinctively, watching the screen intently. He didn't have the heart to tell him not to get attached to them too much, knowing that the end of the series would upset him a great deal. Instead, he just flicked through the next episode's credits and let it run.

They watched another three episodes, Jack becoming increasingly concerned with the safety of Charlie Young, the President's aid, a young black man who was currently the victim of death threats and hate crimes because he was dating the President's youngest daughter. On the final episode, it was obvious that he was happy with the situations the characters were in, but as soon as the group stepped out of the building, into the open air, Ianto saw him tense.

As the credits flashed up on screen, seconds after gun fire directed at the President and his staff members, Jack spoke for the first time in hours. "No, no, no, no! No! What happens?!"

Ianto just snorted in genuine amusement. He hadn't thought that Jack would like the subtle 'blink and you'll miss it' TV show, seeing as it required so much concentration. Sometimes, miss one sentence and you'd be hard pressed to understand what was going on.

"Ianto, what happens?" He twisted around and looked desperately at the young man, only making him laugh harder. "What happens?! Is everyone okay? Did anyone get hurt?"

Ianto sobered up a little then. _Yes, people get hurt… Josh almost dies because they don't find him in time..._ he almost spoke out loud, an irrational need to hurt Jack rising briefly, but realised just in time that it would ruin the opening of the next season. He wasn't sure whether Jack would be coming back to watch it or not, but he'd leave that decision for later. As if on cue, his mobile buzzed in his pocket, jerking him out of his thoughts as he fumbled to look at it.

He scanned the screen, noting the time as 21:50, taking in the details of what had happened. As far as he could see, there was a weevil, or something resembling a weevil, hiding out in the more industrial part of the city. There seemed to be no other signs of life, so it would be a very simple operation to catch it and take it back to the hub. He felt another tug of nostalgia as he remembered all the times he and Jack had gone on similar operations in the past.

"Rift alert…" he muttered, Jack looking over at him with concern. "Nothing big, a rogue weevil at the storm drain. Fancy going hunting, sir?"

He looked up with a crooked smile on his face, excitement glinting in his eyes. It was an expression that Jack had missed intensely, so he didn't give a second thought to jumping up and pulling his boots on. By the time he'd finished slipping his arms through the sleeves of his coat, Ianto had shoved his feet into his own boots and retrieved his hand gun from a drawer in his dresser.

They glanced at each other with smiles on their faces before heading out of the door and down to the SUV.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, spectacularly crap day today:

-I woke up with HORRIFIC muscle aches in my shoulder/neck, so pain all day  
-I have a wisdom tooth that doens't want to come through nicely.. kicking and screaming the whole way  
-My chemistry GCSE was a complete flop, booooo

So here's to everyone who's had a bad day, I hope it makes you smile a little bit!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own this, Torchwood is the property of Russel T. Davies

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**_Chapter 5_**

The SUV squealed to a stop under Jack's capable control and skidded a little. By the time it settled, Ianto was already out of the door, weevil spray and sedative in hand. Jack climbed out his own side and followed the young man across the dark concrete to where the shadows seemed to move more than they should. He watched silently as Ianto headed up and around, looking back briefly to make sure Jack understood.

Double team, take it from both sides. Jack nodded briefly and carried on his slow approach on the alien. He allowed himself a few moments to watch Ianto's athletic figure run silently over the grassy top of the drain to the other bank. He met Jack's eyes again and slid down the concrete slope to the bottom, Jack doing the same on his side, the weevil between them.

Jack pushed off the concrete half way down and dived at the weevil, knocking it to the ground as Ianto's more streamlined form slid to a stop next to them. As he held the flailing claws away from both of them, Jack gave the go order for Ianto to use the spray, making the creature stop gnashing it's teeth for long enough for Ianto to get the syringe of sedative in the weevil's neck and push the drug.

The flailing arms stopped suddenly and Ianto pulled the needle out, replacing the cap, which had been gripped between his teeth, on the sharp and pocketing it. They worked quickly to tie the hands together and hood it up, balancing it between them as the navigated the steep sides of the drain once more. When they got to the top, Jack heaved the unconscious alien over his shoulder and headed back to the SUV, Ianto following.

He took a moment to reflect on the differences in the young man. Before he'd left, Ianto had been more prone to stay out of the fray on runs like this, being the tech backup for Jack. Now, it seemed like he was in a different mind set. He just assumed that during his absence, the young man would've been forced to be a physical agent in the field, to help Owen cart about the bodies and heavy tech they might find. It made a lot of sense when he thought about it.

No matter how logical it was, it made him feel slightly disappointed. Before, he'd felt like Ianto needed him to protect him, but now it was obvious that he could fend for himself. It was something that Jack knew was bound to happen sometime, as Ianto had never been the helpless young man that the captain somehow visualised him as, but he wished the illusion could've lasted that little bit longer.

On a lighter note, his image of Ianto was now stronger and more masculine, in a way. He'd always had strength; his wit and intellect was something to be reckoned with, but now it was more obvious, much more physical.

He felt happier already as he dumped the weevil in the boot of the SUV, returning to climb into the driver's seat. He turned to Ianto and nodded in approval. "You're getting good in the field, Ianto."

"I know, sir." Jack turned to look at him, finding Ianto staring out of the window, a wry smile on his face as he gazed at the tree line about thirty metres away. The captain turned the key in the ignition and began the drive back to the hub, trying to think of something else he could say.

"Did you go on a lot of runs then?" He asked tentatively, not sure whether bringing up his absence would start an argument. Ianto just snorted lightly, his almost bored expression staying in place.

"How else do you think Owen's still alive? The amount of times I had to save his neck… I honestly don't know how you do it." Jack chuckled at the young man's reply. It was true that Owen was a danger magnet, but he protected his team instinctively. He'd never really thought about the amount of times he'd had to tackle Owen out of the way of something or stop Gwen from lunging into a fight without thinking. Her stunning record of idiocy in the field had only ended in injury once, and even then it hadn't been her fault.

"I know what you mean. Is he still denying that he's in love with Tosh?" Jack asked, wondering whether Owen had seized an opportunity yet. Ianto just laughed.

"Seriously? Owen make a move on commitment?" He sobered up then a little. "No, but you can see that every time he comes into work after a night on the pull, it tears Tosh up a little. I don't know how she does it."

The words stung Jack a little and he didn't pay much attention to the conversation after that, letting the awkward silence drift between them again. He really needed to talk to Ianto about his disappearance, sooner rather than later. _Tonight. I'll talk to him tonight… I won't take no for a answer_, he thought, determination setting his mind in place as he pulled the SUV into the underground garage.

He got out and pulled the weevil from the boot, carrying it through the hub to the cells. "I think I'll call you Albert," he said conversationally, locking it in the cell next to Janet. "You kids have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

As he stepped away, he blew a kiss to Janet and left the room, heading back through the seemingly endless maze of corridors to the main part of the hub. As he walked, he planned. By the time he was up by the workstations, he had what he was going to say roughly planned out. He moved to his office to make the final alterations and details, sitting back in his desk chair and sighing, _it's good to be back_.


	6. Chapter 6

Penultimate chapter time! Also, time to cheer for only having one exam left and for having the new Coldplay album, Viva la Vida (Death and All His Friends) which my dad had ordered for me wothout telling me!

Happy writer here, I hpoe this chapter can cheer at least one person up in turn!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Torchwood or it's characters, they're property of Russel T. Davies.

* * *

**_Chapter 6_**

Jack looked carefully around his office. It was the first time he'd had a real chance to take in the sight since he'd returned. This room was the closest thing he had to home. Smiling, he remembered all the times he'd spent with Ianto in the room; the hot, sweaty times, the careful, sensitive times. The times that had sapped the energy right out of them and the times that had only made them want more.

Of course, that wasn't the best thing to be thinking about right now, not considering the state that things were in. He knew he'd hurt the young man and he knew there was a lot of explaining to do. It would take a while for him to trust Jack again, but all the captain wanted was the chance to show he wouldn't leave him again. _Dumbest thing I've done yet… I should've known the Doctor wouldn't know how to fix me_, he thought bitterly.

It had been a dim hope when he'd come up with the idea, something to keep him fighting for the past couple of centuries. Luckily, he had, he'd kept going for long enough to meet and fall in love with Ianto. Now though, he wanted to be able to die, to die permanently. Jack couldn't face the thought of having to watch Ianto die, to have to bury him.

It was a thought he pushed away violently at the merest hint of it emerging. Instead, he focussed on the positive; on the way Ianto never failed to make him smile, the sarcastic retorts to Owen's complaints, the taste of his lips, his skin. Everything about the young man made Jack's body tingle. He had never been able to resist intelligence, but the fiery conviction and passion that burned in Ianto's eyes had been the clincher.

Sitting back, Jack drifted away into memories of the young man sitting at his desk in the main section of the hub.

Ianto sat quietly, filling out the necessary paperwork to file for the weevil capture. It was a pretty simple thing to do, but the young man made it stretch out, filling in every detail to the best of his ability, going over the dose of sedative used, whether any bullets were fired and whether there were any injuries in amazing accuracy.

Of course, after he'd finished typing, less than half an hour later, he disappeared off to the kitchen area, deciding that the hub was in some serious need of a cleaning. First, he had to make himself a cup of coffee… A strong, hot cup of coffee. He had a feeling, deep in his stomach, that he'd have to have the conversation with Jack tonight, sooner rather than later.

He sighed heavily and flicked the 'on' switch for the coffee machine, leaning back on the counter and folding his arms. He slowly started to drift off into his own little world, thinking about Jack; about the way he looked first thing in the morning, the way he smiled, the way he laughed like he was the only person in the room.

He focussed on the positive, the things that he always wanted to remember about Jack, yet somehow, the things that hurt him flooded back; the fact that Jack would never die, the way he threw himself into danger, the hold he had on the young man. That was the thing that made him angry, the fact that no matter what happened, no matter how mad or annoyed he may get, he was completely and unconditionally in love with Jack.

It was Jack he wanted to be with at the end of the day, the one who he wanted to get so lost in that he could barely remember himself. It was Jack who made him feel like he could take on the world, the one who'd helped him up when he fell, no matter how hard. He growled angrily and slammed his fist down on the worktop next to him. He'd never wanted to be this dependant on someone again, he'd promised himself that he was stronger than that.

But there was a little voice, deep inside him that pointed out he was still strong, he'd gotten through Jack's absence the best of the entire team. He was the only one who hadn't lost faith in the captain. All the others had derailed to some extent.

Gwen had taken charge, bossing everyone around to cover up how much she was hurting, ordering everyone around to keep herself busy, to stop the thoughts. Owen had become even more hostile than usual, convinced that it was still his fault, that everything that had happened to Jack was because of him, despite the fact that the captain had clearly forgiven him. Tosh had just got quieter, forcing a smile every time Ianto asked her how she was.

The Welshman had felt surprisingly secure throughout. Sure, he was hurting to hell without Jack there, he missed him more than anything, like a constant ache in his chest, but never once did he think his lover wasn't coming back. For some reason, everyone else thought he'd gone for good. Ianto hadn't quite understood how they could think that little of him. Jack had always come back to them, no matter what. _Not even death could keep him away from us_, Ianto thought, smiling slightly, _and I bet he was being shown the universe when he was gone, but he still turned up again, just like he'd always promised._

The conflicting emotions in Ianto made him feel fit to burst. Sighing heavily again, he pushed the thoughts away and decided to find something to eat in the fridge. Digging around a little, he found a half eaten Chinese takeaway from a few nights before. He stuck the containers into the microwave and set them to heat up the food slowly as he made the coffee.

He almost laughed as he heard the other man bounding across the hub. As he used to do, Jack had poked his head out of the comfort and tranquillity of his office at the sound and smell of the coffee machine coming to the end of it's job. Ianto still marvelled at how he managed to hear it from the dark room.

"Coffee?" Ianto looked round to see Jack's eyes bright with hope. He suppressed a smile and handed him the stripy blue and white mug. He nodded slightly and picked up his own, taking a sip and visibly relaxing as the warmth ran through him. The silence continued between them for a few minutes, and Ianto noticed, from the corner of his eye, that Jack was watching him with a serious expression.

Finally, Ianto forced himself to look up at meet the sharp blue eyes staring at him. "Ianto, I think we need to have that talk…" His eyes stayed fixed with Ianto's, his voice subdued and he put his half drunk coffee on the worktop.


	7. Chapter 7

**hotflower901**: I spent the entirity of yesterday afternoon listening to Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, and I want you to know that it's the best new album I've listened to since Echoes, SIlence, Patience and Grace was released last september. (To everyonw as well:) GO BUY IT! Coldplay FTW

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It's 'the talk' time! **DUN DUN** **DUUUUN!** (I really hope you like it after the hype that seems to have been created - I am personally extremely happy with it, but I definitly want feed back about it!)

6 hours of sleep, one Physics GCSE and a sherbet fountain later, my story finally comes to it's conclusion. Thankyou everyone for reading, it's great to know so many people are enjoying my work!

Please, everyone enjoy this! I've loved writing it and getting feedback, and now I'm on a short writing rest (to watch TW series 2 with some friends later) before writing the next part of Jaffa Cakes :)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of the stuff below, sadly, but Russel T. Davies does, lucky bugger

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**_Chapter 7_**

"Yeah… I guess we do." Ianto dropped his gaze from Jack's to the floor, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against the counter again.

"Good. What do you want to know?" Jack asked, having not moved at all.

"A lot, but what do you want to tell me?" Ianto asked in reply, his voice a little bitter. Jack picked up on his tone almost immediately.

"I'll tell you anything you want, just ask me." Ianto looked up at that.

"What are you doing here?" Jack was taken aback by the cool edge to the words.

"Ianto, I came back because I made a mistake. I shouldn't have left in the first place." Jack resigned himself to the anger of the young man, knowing he deserved it.

"I know that, sir, why don't you answer my question?" The two pairs of blue eyes locked together.

"I'm here because I want to be with you, with the team."

"So you said." Ianto's voice was sarcastic, his usual dry humour slipping into place. "How long until you disappear again? I think they'd appreciate a warning next time. They all blamed themselves, you know; Owen almost drunk himself to death for the first few days, Gwen took control to block out her thoughts and Tosh got even more withdrawn."

Jack felt a flare of anger at the casual tone of Ianto's voice, the matter-of-fact way he filled Jack in about the team's feelings. "I didn't mean for that to happen."

"Oh, right, because that makes everything much more acceptable." Ianto fixed the older man with a disbelieving expression, a carefully calculated look of assurance that held nothing but unsurity for the beholder. "It didn't stop those three thinking you'd abandoned them. Did you EVER think to explain it to them?"

"How can I stand there and explain, to people who're meant to trust me, that I'll just disappear one day? How can I look them in the eyes and say that?" Jack's voice was getting steaily louder as his anger boiled up, his words echoing through the empty hub, proceeding to yell as he continued. "It would be a sword of Damocles, hanging over everyone, forcing them to live in constant fear of being left in the lurch! I couldn't have done that to any of you!"

"So leaving them behind, without a word, only hours after you came back to us, was better?" Ianto's voice remained cool and professional, only the merest hint of venom in his tone. "Disappearing, knowing you were gone, was one thing… But knowing that the cost was leaving them behind, leaving me to watch them suffer, to watch them pity me. I told them, I tried to convince them for days that you'd be coming back, but they just thought I'd finally cracked under the pressure of losing you."

"I'd been waiting for two centuries, Ianto! I waited for so long, I couldn't just let him pass me by!" Jack was glaring angrily at him. Surely he knew that, surely he could understand where he was coming from. The expression on the young man's face didn't change. "I _always_ said I would come back for you, why the _hell_ didn't you believe me?"

That pushed Ianto over the edge, his persona slipping as his fist came crashing down on the surface, making Jack jump slightly. "I never thought, not for one second, that you'd abandoned me!"

Jack and Ianto glared at each other, both tensed; jaws clenched and fists balled, ready for a fight. Jack saw pain and anger and annoyance flickering in the young man's eyes, something he regretted instantly, Ianto was the last person he'd ever meant to hurt. Ianto saw the grief and shame. He moved towards Jack quickly, taking his head in his hands and kissing him hard, pressing his body against the older man as he surrendered completely to his need for Jack.

It took the captain a moment to catch up with the reality, but as soon as he did, he wrapped his arms tightly around the young man and kissed him back, violently, passionately, showing Ianto just how much he'd missed him whilst he was gone. They stayed locked in their embrace, bodies moulded perfectly to each other, for several long, peaceful moments until Ianto finally had to pull back from breath, leaning his forehead against Jack's and closing his eyes.

Jack moved his hands to rest around Ianto's wrists, silently working through everything that had happened. Ianto hadn't blamed him for going, hadn't believed he was gone. He hadn't lost hope. He was angry because of the others, what they went through. His train of thought was distracted when he felt something around one of Ianto's wrists. He pulled away and moved the hands from his face, pushing up the sleeve of the young man's hoody to inspect the skin underneath.

There, glinting in the dim lighting of the hub, was the necklace Jack had given him the night he and Tosh returned from getting trapped in 1941. They'd returned to Ianto's flat and curled up together on the sofa, neither speaking, both needing the other's presence immensely. Eventually, Jack had made up his mind and given the necklace to Ianto; the last possession he had from his home as a young boy, his mother's pride and joy. It was the first thing his father had ever bought for her and held great sentimental value. He'd explained everything to Ianto, and the young man had simply wrapped it around his wrist without a word.

"You still wear this thing?" Jack asked, his voice quiet, warmer than it had been since his return.

"Of course." Ianto watched as Jack absently fiddled with the silvery beads, his fingers running over the smooth surfaces absently as he felt a wave of nostalgia for his childhood. "Just because you managed to rip me apart three times in one week doesn't mean I ever stopped loving you."

"Three times?" Jack looked at him curiously.

"You got shot through the head, you had the life literally sucked out of you and you left me alone for weeks, not knowing when you'd come back and fix me." His eyes moved to Jack's, locking onto them, his expression serious again. "I knew you were coming back, but it doesn't mean that being left on my own for so long didn't kill me every morning, when you weren't there."

Jack nodded slowly before leaning in to capture Ianto's mouth in a deep, soft kiss. Both men knew at that moment that everything was going to be alright. They'd work this through together and they'd never make the same mistakes again.

"I'm never going to disappear on you like that again, I pro-" Jack began, Ianto cutting him off with a look.

"Don't say anything you can't be certain to keep. I can live with you disappearing so long as you come back once you're done." He finally smiled genuinely, looking round at the kicthen behind him as he did so. "Okay, I'm hungry, so I'm going to eat, care to join me?"

Jack chuckled at the abrupt change in tone, a change that sealed the conversation and put it behind them. Nodding in reply, he watched as Ianto opened the microwave and served up the remains of the takeaway he'd heated up. They took the plates through to Jack's office and sat in amiable silence as they ate, both feeling more relaxed and happy with their lives than they had for a very long time. Once Jack had finished, he sighed in appreciation and put his plate down, looking over at Ianto.

"So, what's next?" Their eyes met and Ianto smiled mysteriously. It was going to be one hell of a reunion night.


End file.
